Agents, friends, fellow Explorers:

Important RPEs (Remote Participation Experiments -- also known as a Role Playing Games or RPGs) will take place at Camp Navarro and Schloss Kaltenberg during the MAGNUS event codenamed 'Epiphany Night.'

Our RPE missions will take us to the past, to the future, and to another present. We will attempt to uncover unsolved mysteries about Epiphany Night -- the dramatic event that begun our XM journey many years ago... and we will explore the strange theory surrounding a new universe, codenamed 'OSIRIS,' that some believe is similar to ours in many ways.

For those who have taken part in an NIA RPE before, you know the drill. For others, know that all that is required of you is a collaborative spirit, a creative mind and a desire to adventure. No prior RPG experience needed.

Please note that this RPE will require your presence in person at Camp Navarro or Schloss Kaltenberg during the Epiphany Night event.

Sign up links are here:

Camp Navarro: https://goo.gl/forms/wFK4t5OruuBgzQEr2
Schloss Kaltenberg: https://goo.gl/forms/ig72zKoCFxmrCE1i2

Every effort will be made to accommodate all those who express interest at the session time that they request, but spaces are limited, so please keep an open mind.

Please be aware that RPEs remain a subject of active scientific investigation. They have unknown effects in both this and other dimensions. Agents engage in RPEs at their own risk, and the NIA is not responsible for any psychological, physiological or extra-dimensional repercussions.

See you soon, Agents.

Hank Johnson
Director
National Intelligence Agency

A challenge for Agents around the world, and a reward from the NIA's predictive intelligence unit...

NIA Analysts are working to uncover intel related to the upcoming #EXO5 Anomalies, including the locations of Volatile Portals and Research Nodes.

I will have access to 10 packets of Intel, and here is how you can earn them:

On Friday, Dec 1, create Fields (in the specific regions below, as well as Globally). The Faction with the greatest increase in MU over the 5 hour checkpoint I specify will gain access to the intel.

We'll be measuring total MU once at the beginning at the specific window, and once at the end. The Faction with the greater increase wins.

GLOBAL MU
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: 0
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 16:00 (first Measurement) to 21:00 (last Measurement). Times in UTC.

AS09-KILO-08 (around Medan, Indonesia)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: +7
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 18:00 (first Measurement) to 23:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

PA01-SIERRA-08 (around Adelaide, Australia)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: +10.5
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 16:30 (first Measurement) to 21:30 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

PA08-ROMEO-06 (around Hamilton, New Zealand)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: +13
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 19:00 (first Measurement) to 24:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

NR02-DELTA-10 (around Kiev, Ukraine)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: +2
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 18:00 (first Measurement) to 23:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

NR02-FOXTROT-05 (around Prague, Czech Republic)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: +1
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 17:00 (first Measurement) to 22:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

AF11-SIERRA-13 (around Naples, Italy)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: +1
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 17:00 (first Measurement) to 22:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

AM01-HOTEL-07 (around Des Moines, IA, USA)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: - 6
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 15:00 (first Measurement) to 20:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

AM14-PAPA-14 (around Asuncion, Paraguay)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: - 3
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 18:00 (first Measurement) to 23:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

AM16-PAPA-15 (around Montevideo, Uruguay)
Reward: 1 Intel packet.
UTC Offset: - 3
Septicycle: 2017.46
Window being Measured: 18:00 (first Measurement) to 23:00 (last Measurement). Times are local for this Cell.

That's 10 packets of Intel, all told -- 1 for each Region identified and one for Global MU. Good luck, Agents.

Agents.

Reading your responses to my previous post was an emotional experience.

I asked for advice, but what I got was something much more: I got a reminder of the trust and faith many have placed in me, of the care and concern that many folks have for me, and of the powerful relationship we have with the mysteries of XM.

It made the call easy.

I know there's risk. And I know there's the possibility that my wings could get clipped. But it would be a travesty for me to walk away from an opportunity where I can protect and develop every Agent's true potential.

I have chosen to accept the offer: I will be taking over as acting chief of the NIA.

I hope I don't let you or myself down.

I was surprised by how many of the Niantic Project members I saw at Calvin's memorial.

I had suspected most would never forgive him for what we learned during Abaddon. But I guess the flipside was that he was the one who brought us together. Made us special. Helped us discover our roles, our Archetypes and so much more.

Many of them had interesting things to say about Calvin -- and I'll cover those another time -- today I have something more important to share.

Met Devra there. It turns out one of the reasons she has been planning to go to Berlin is that she's presenting some new research at a conference there.

She began to notice some strange going-ons in her old Niantic era scanner -- one of Lynton-Wolfe's originals.

She started doing some digging and has a pretty compelling theory about how a number of things tie together: November Lima, the Scanner, the Niantic Facility, the Exogenous... all of it.

She's even convinced that the Operation: Essex hosted RPE in Boulder tomorrow night is involved somehow... (I am a bit concerned about this -- last I heard they were probing concepts like Exogenous Forces and Anti-Archetypes... things I personally have found too dangerous to explore.)

Calvin's death has Devra spooked, though. She's placed her research in trust... it is to be given to the winner of the Anomalies worldwide on Saturday as a backup -- just in case something happens to her. I suspect Farlowe will be watching over her though -- so hopefully she stays safe.

As for me, got an interesting call... I might be swinging by an old NIA facility in Houston while I'm down there for the Anomaly. Was invited to a very unusual sounding meeting. More when I see you all in Houston.

I did spot PAC at the funeral. He was keeping his distance, but I told him not to bother. It wasn't a large crowd, and no-one there bears him any particular ill will. He's pretty convinced a lot of the war in Washington traces back to Akira... I'm not so sure myself, but he said he would do some digging while he's in Japan.

Let's see what he turns up.

I'm sitting awake, watching the final #13MAGNUSREAWAKENS Anomalies kick off -- manically refreshing PAC's scoreboard at http://bit.ly/13mrscore -- but can't get this mystery out of my mind:

Here in Washington, where laws are made to protect yet no one is safe, a man was found dead. In the early morning of September 9th, Ken Owen’s body was found by a passerby by a sculpture at the Kennedy Center, almost exactly where Roland Jarvis and Oliver Lynton-Wolfe had their fateful Cassandra showdown just a few years ago.

It is easy to conclude that whoever killed him was sending a message. But what did they want to say? And to whom? Ken Owens, known as the foremost master of PR spin, was hired by various agencies, companies, and universities, but most notably for none other than the NIA. The body is said to have 5 bullet holes, official documentation from the coroner has not been forthcoming.

Agents, I need your help. If you have any insight into who pulled the trigger on Ken Owen, find me in Washington D.C. and share it in person. Right now, I am only looking for the triggerman (or woman). That will lead us to the actual killer.

Here’s some of what I know:

THE VICTIM:

Ken Owen: Beltway P.R. Flack. Owen was a ‘spinmaster’ extraordinaire. If a corporation, person, nation or government agency had a sudden P.R. problem, they hired Ken Owen. His specialty was to fog the issue, get out the facts if they were good for the client, hide the facts if they were bad for the client, attack the credibility of his opponents. Ken Owen was a library of dirty information which he would use strategically to control news cycles. If he wanted to get his client out of the spin cycle, he’d drop some dirt on somebody else. He protected a lot of people and he damaged a lot of people. He made a lot of enemies. He knew where the ‘bodies were buried’, and that might have gotten him killed.

CURRENT PERSONS OF INTEREST

Avril Lorazon: Acting co-head of IQTech. The NIA and IQTech have a long and complex relationship. Calvin revolving doored to IQTech after the Niantic Calamity. Most recently, IQTech and the NIA have been struggling over ownership of NL 1331 -- not to mention the power struggle between Akira Tsukasa and Lorazon. Is it possible that one of these battles went kinetic?

Antione Smith: Deadly Operative for Hulong Transglobal (technically Strategic Explorations -- but we all know that’s a corporate shell game). I first encountered this Caribbean born operative in Africa when he was involved in the exploitation of conflict metals (this is chronicled in Thomas Greanias’ THE ALIGNMENT: INGRESS.) His partner, I believe his name was Chow was, the first person I’d known to die of XM poisoning. Smith was spotted in Washington D.C. on the night before Ken Owen was killed. D.C. is off his beat. Why was he here?

Claudia Glas: Visur covert operative. Also believed to have been in Washington D.C. at the time of the killing. Visur has been quiet. What was one of their killers doing in D.C.? Something is going on and I want to know what. Like Smith, she had opportunity, but means and motive are unknown.

Hubert Farlowe: Worked freelance security during Niantic Project. Current whereabouts unknown. He only makes this list because of an anonymous tip I received that stated, ‘It was Farlowe.’ He certainly knew Ken Owens from Niantic days, but that was a long time ago. Why Farlowe? Why now? Farlowe and Devra are known to have had a history. They have a bond… the guy considers himself her guardian angel for some reason. I tried to contact her, but she has not responded.

855: He is on the list because he is a master of the professional kill and staged assassination. It is no accident that Ken Owen’s body was found where it was. This smells like 855. And, if you remember, 855 was mind-hacked by ADA at one point. Is she tied into this somewhere? Or did somebody take out a contract on Ken Owen?

Jay Phillips: Acting head of the NIA. I save him for last because he had extreme opportunity. He worked with Owen. He hired Owen at the NIA. What could the motive have been? Why now? It should be borne in mind that Phillips ran the ‘clean up’ operation after the Niantic Project. Did he have more clean-up to do?

I’ve long believed in 'Power Spots.' In fact, some of my earliest work into the subject, before Niantic and Ingress, dealt specifically with how ancient peoples chose the locations for their most sacred structures and art through the influence of a power they couldn’t understand. Or resist.

We now know that that was the Exogenous. Shapers, N'zeer, we've come up with names to define them and compartmentalize their impact on our world, but I doubt our list will ever be complete.

But what of Dark XM? Were the locations where this rare substance has existed places that the Exogenous avoided?

At the moment, it is just a theory, but it would explain why certain areas seem to repulse activity, rather than attract it. If so, why? Much to learn...

The ancient people of Australia may have been some of the first people to experience Dark XM. It is logical to conclude that they encountered it during their thousands of years exploring the outback. If so, then there may be information here to uncover.

As for Misty, I think she is attempting to do something much more reckless than I had initially believed.

A theory that has been floated in the past is that Anomalies and heightened XM activity may in fact draw Exogenous Intelligences closer to our reality -- perhaps even allowing them to temporarily enter our dimensional node.

Has Misty been preparing her mind palace to enable her to interface with such an intelligence directly?

Is she hoping to, as Devra would put it, establish dialtone?

If so, it's likely she intends to use the Ingress Anomalies to fuel this goal...

I cannot overstate my concern about this. Nor can I understand why she would choose to do something so reckless.

Following #13MAGNUSReawakens in Navarro, I was keenly aware that the world -- perhaps the many worlds -- were entering a period of change...

From the reorganization of the Niantic MAGNUS in ORW, to the forming of new Magnuses (created by Agents during the Remote Participation Exercises) I knew something more was happening.

It reminded me of Darsana, and the way we discovered that the N’zeer were entering into our world.

And now, I’m become convinced that things may be coming to a head. That's why I’m going to Australia.

I believe that +Misty Hannah recently traveled to the continent. Maybe she's still there. If I’ve learned anything about Misty, it's that she's got a talent for getting places and being places. Sometimes multiple places at once.

Her recent show and appearances all are hinting at something important regarding the concept of her "mind palace".

Usually the places and spaces that form our lives are considered loci for creating memory journeys -- simple mnemonic devices to enhance the way our brain works -- that's the essence of a mind palace in a nutshell. But I think for Misty it's something more.

I’m also worried that Dark XM or some other dangerous force sits at the heart of whatever she's after. If that's true, the Anomalies are at the center of it all.

Whatever she's doing, there could be consequences. And those consequences could be far reaching. Nobody knows this more than I do. I remember #Helios. I remember #Darsana.

All this makes me wonder: Could this trickster finally be showing us her true nature?

Obviously, as host of Nomad and a global wanderer myself, I can't advise others against adventuring, but I do advise those who are tempted to engage in this, or are in fact already engaging in it, to prepare and equip yourself as you would for an ORW (Our Real World) journey when engaging in Remote Participation Exercises. They are, indeed, similar to Anomalous Zones...

I have little specific advice, but will be gathering more. For now, all I have are observations.

Always be aware of how long your 'insertion period' is in an Anomalous Zone, and where your escape portal to the your real world is. Do not find yourself trapped. Part of you will remain there until reconnected. So not leave a fellow agent behind. In other words, ingress carefully, orient, observe and egress on schedule.

Exercise extreme caution to observe but remain mindful of the change you may cause in an Anomalous Zone. There is value in being invisible. We have no idea how events in an AZ might affect things in other layers of reality. Your actions can have consequences, and you may not always be able to know what those consequences are...

I am developing a theory that there is a relation between mind palaces and things that manifest in ORW. Just as the Scanner tools and weapons we have were planted in Jarvis and Oliver Lynton-Wolfe’s minds, when we create mind palaces, our ideas might interface with other Dimensional Nodes -- to unknown effect.

I am developing a theory that many structures in ORW are physical manifestations of mind palaces from other places. I have not yet acquired adequate evidence to offer as proof of this, but I do believe it. If you come upon evidence of this, please notify me.

I am endeavoring to build my own mind palace... It has come to my attention that there are tracts on how to do this and I ask your assistance in helping me collect any that come your way.

What I saw at Jahan's place has caused me to view statues, public art and even architecture in a very different way.

Where I used to believe they were inert objects, I now believe that they serve a much deeper purpose. They are like 'icons' or 'avatars' for a very different reality and energy. For instance, the statue of a warrior, in fact, is an avatar for a real exogenous warrior which has the potential to manifest under the right circumstances. That is to say that exogenous entities have always been amongst us, hidden in plain sight, inert, but waiting to be brought to life -- if 'life' is indeed the right word...

In some ways, this comes as a great surprise to me. In other ways, I knew it all along. Why else has every culture in the history of mankind fashioned strange fantastical guardians, from primitive masks to ornate statues?

They are vessels.

Forgive my near silence since Navarro. One mission always begets another and it seems the events of 13MAGNUS: Reawakens have caused a new journey to unfold for me... the details of which I will disclose in due time.

I've also working on another installment of Nomad which I hope should tell more. That having been said, there are some things that I felt the need to weigh in on:

PAC's compromised NIA drop of yesterday resonated with my own findings. There is no doubt in my mind that remote participation is real, but only under very specific circumstances. It is not something to be taken lightly or undertaken frivolously. The potential moral and actual consequences of it are incalculable. We must exercise extreme caution with Remote Participation Exercises. We simply don't understand enough to trust what we think we know...

Likewise, I hope H. Richard Loeb (aka PAC) will be very careful working with ADA. We have no idea what is inside her at this point and/or what influences she is operating under. While liberating her was necessary to stabilize the situation at Niantic and shut down the HAZDATA operation to reawaken Lynton-Wolfe's Tecthulhu, she should be treated as a volatile and potentially dangerous being. ADA herself would know this, but whether she would be transparent about it is another thing.

Finally, for reasons that I cannot currently disclose, I am trying to make contact with my charismatic colleague from the Niantic Project, Misty Hannah. If anybody has information on her whereabouts, please get it to me in a non-public manner.

That is all for today, but there is more to come.

Much is happening.

I'll be honest -- don't recall meeting the person who calls themselves Amaziah.

I do remember the conversation that was mentioned in that email -- the bicameral mind, and how it might explain a sudden change in humanity's relationship with either itself or the Exogenous, depending on how you frame the question.

A number of us were present -- at the time I was not very well known in these highly academic circles (to be fair I'm still kind of an outsider) -- and I mostly hovered around the edges of the discussion. If I remember correctly, it was Wright who was the key driver and who first raised the possibility that the bicameral mind theory could have emerged as a rationalization for the sudden disappearance of an outside influencer on human thought and behavior.

If you've ever been around Wright for a period of time, two things become clear: 1) He will talk endlessly about nearly any subject and enjoy it perhaps more than he should, and 2) Despite this, the ideas he presents are often challenging or at the least thought provoking.

Time and science have largely dismissed the bicameral mind theory, but for those of us who are aware of the vast body of evidence surrounding what -- for lack of a better term -- we call the Exogenous Era, it's a well thought out explanation for something that remains a mystery.

One day, we exist in a fluid system where an outside force may have actively engaged in shaping our destiny. The next day, we were alone. Did this happen, or are we imagining it from the comfort of a scientific future and a mind that conceives reality in a certain, self-assured way?

I recall a story told to me by another Niantic researcher -- and I apologize if I (or they)'ve told this before -- of a person who doubted the myths of their faith and visited a guru to discover the real truth.

This person asked the guru a number of questions:

Guru, you say that two great gods fought here, and one died and this mountain is his body. Is this true?

The guru says yes, this is true...

And guru, you say that this god's mother wept at the loss of her child, and these oceans was formed from her tears. Is this true?

The guru says yes, and the conversation goes on for some time like this -- each time the guru affirming that the myths are true, and explain the presence of every aspect of the world around them.

Finally, the frustrated visitor says: Guru, when I look at the world around me, I see no great gods, I see no evidence to serve that any of these things you claim actually happened.

The guru responds: Did you want to know if these things are true, or did you want to know if they happened?